Siim Kallas, the Reform Party's candidate for prime minister, has bowed out, saying he will not form the next government because of what he called a smear campaign.

He announced the decision this morning after a meeting of the Reform Party board, just as the Reform Party representatives were due to head to Kadriorg for an 11:00 meeting with Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

"Since the moment that someone got it into their head that I could be the next prime minister of the Republic of Estonia, a media campaign was launched. It has become especially bad now. There is no reason to think this campaign won't continue," Kallas said in a media statement.

"A situation has arisen where instead of dealing with decisions that pertain to Estonian life, both my loyal assistants and I spend endless time countering accusations, suspicions, all sorts of questions, finally resulting in the opinion that the 'explanations were not sufficient,'" he said.

"A prime minister cannot work effectively in such a situation. It's a burden on the party, Cabinet and coalition partner."

Kallas said he believed that the Reform Party and Social Democrats could still form the next government based on the coalition-building talks to date.

Possible names floated by observers for prime minister include several of the Reform Party's "30-something" ministers, such as current Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, who is the most popular Reform Party figure among the public.

Kallas is currently serving as European Commissioner for Transport. He is also one of five vice-presidents of the 27-member “Barroso Commission,” named after its president, José Manuel Barroso, in which he is has focused on the work of the Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-Fraud Commission.

Kallas was prime minister between January 28, 2002, and April 10, 2003, taking over the office from Mart Laar. Kallas's successor was Juhan Parts.

He also has held positions as the Estonian Minister of Finance, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and member of the parliament. Kallas was a member and a former leader of the Reform Party. During the Soviet era, he was chairman of the Estonian Confederation of Trade Unions, and member of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union.

Direct democracy was possible and even necessary in Estonia, said historian Jaak Valge at the “Is Estonia Ready for Democracy?” conference at the National Library on Saturday. At the same time, the rules Estonia would introduce in connection with votes needed to be thoroughly discussed.

According to European Parliament member Urmas Paet, in addition to established routes through Turkey and Greece, and Libya and Italy, refugees are starting to migrate through Europe via a new path through Russia, which may begin to directly affect not just Norway and Finland, but also neighboring EU states Estonia and Latvia as well.

The decision phase has been reached in the question of merging Kernu, Nissi, and Saue parishes as well the town of Saue. Launched today and lasting until Sunday, a public opinion poll is open to all local residents at least 16 years of age regarding whether or not they support the merger and what they would like to name the newly formed parish.

After Edgar Savisaar was reelected leader of the Center Party last year, the number of its vice-chairpersons increased from two to four. The party’s constitution says Savisaar can appoint one of them to represent him whenever he is inconvenienced. But this might not be legal.

Digital Single Market EU Commissioner and former Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip on Friday criticized the Soldiers of Odin, a self-proclaimed vigilante group whose purported aim is to protect the native population from immigrants by patrolling the streets. Ansip said they were "only one step away from little green men.”

Reacting to criticism expressed in the President’s speech on Wednesday, Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas (Reform) said he wasn't in favor of decision-making by vote in the government, as this would not be fair toward the smaller coalition partners.

President Toomas Hendrik Ilves opened his Independence Day speech this year saying that he was afraid the migration crisis might lead to the disintegration of the European Union. Among other things, the President criticized that Estonia had wasted two years quarreling about how grown up people should arrange or should be allowed to arrange their private lives instead of talking about more important issues. Here is the President's speech in full length.

The Estonian government has no plans to open new accommodation units for asylum seekers, the Ministry of Social Affairs said, commenting on the buyer of a former army training base saying he was planning to convert it into a refugee housing facility and a care home.

Hoisting the flag at sunrise, laying of wreaths at the Victory Column, the Independence Day parade, award ceremonies, the grand concert in Estonia Concert Hall, the President's speech and reception: Estonia had a busy day on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State John Kerry offered congratulations to Estonia on behalf of the President and the citizens of the United States on the occasion of Estonia’s Independence Day. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory message to President Ilves.

Political commentators agree that the speech of Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas (Reform) in Tartu’s Vanemuine theatre on Tuesday covered everything that could be expected, and didn’t include anything surprising.

The Estonian flag is flown from sunrise to sunset. On the occasion of the 98th anniversary of the republic, several hundred people attended the hoisting of the flag on Pikk Hermann Tower on Toompea on Wednesday morning.

The first festive event of the 98th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia is the hoisting of the Estonian flag at sunrise on Toompea’s Pikk Hermann tower. ETV will broadcast the event live starting 7:30 Wednesday morning.

Sinine Äratus (Blue Awakening), the youth party of EKRE, has cautioned all people planning to attend their torch parade planned for Independence Day tomorrow Wednesday that placards, slogans and symbols not appropriate for the anniversary of the Republic of Estonia are not welcome.

Estonia is being ravaged by an HIV epidemic, and nobody knows just how many people are infected by the virus. Non-governmental organizations that deal with HIV-positive people on a daily basis confirm that Estonia has been pinning its hopes too much on funding from the European Social Fund.

In an interview with Päevaleht, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said that Estonia needed a government that actually governed the country. He also accused the government of being unwilling to take part in a wider debate about the country's tax system.

Ieva Ilves, wife of Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and patron of the Estonian branch of SOS Children's Villages, paid a visit to the local children's village and also gave a class as part of the Back to School Week in Põltsamaa on Friday.

Asked to comment on the fresh party ratings out on Friday, the chairman of the Social Democrats’ parliamentary party said that the opposition resorted to populism to boost its ratings. His counterpart of IRL said a rise in the rating of IRL still lied ahead.

The Supervisory Committee on Party Financing suspects that about €100,000 of the Center Party’s cash reserve represent illegal donations. The committee intends to send an auditor to check the party's finances.